Reuters to cut five percent of editorial staff

10/2/13 11:42 AM EDT

Stephen Adler, president and editor in chief of Reuters, announced Wednesday the company will cut around five percent of its editorial staff.

Notifications of cuts will start this month and will affect Reuters offices across the world, Adler said in a conference call according to the New York Observer.

The announcement comes in the wake of weeks of high level staff departures from the organization and the announcement the company was canning their ambitious new digital product Reuters Next.

Despite cancelling Next, Adler told staff improving the current website is still a priority. Adler also said the company will start focusing more on emerging markets like Asia.

On Tuesday, Thomson Reuters CEO Jim Smith sent a video to staff announcing a review of the company's business units.

"We need to better align resources behind our most promising growth opportunities," Smith said. "We need to attack internal bureaucracy once and for all," adding that longtime executive Neil Masterson will be taking on the role of "chief transformation officer."